Apparatus for drying and cleaning ramie and other fibers



WITNESS i INVENTOR;

(No ModeL) v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. C. O. KAUFFMAN.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND CLEANING RAMIE AND OTHER FIBERS No. 362,386.Patented May 3, 1887.

ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.) 2 sheets sheet 2.

' C. G. KAUPPMAN.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND CLEANING RAMIE AND OTHER FIBERS.

N0.;36Z,386. Patented May 3, 1887.

IN'VENTOR 5&2:

WITNESS ATTORNEYSL V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTIAN-C. KAUFFMAN, on NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND CLEANlN'G'j RAMlE, AND OTHER FIBERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 362,386, dated May 3.1887.

Application filed August 2, 1886.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itkn'own that I, CHRISTIAN'O. KAUFF- MAN, of New Orleans, in theparish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and usefulImprovement-in Apparatus for Drying andGleaning Ramie andother Fibers,of which the following is and exact description.

, This invention consists in a special appararo tus, including certainnovelconstructionsand combinations of parts, substantially as here-'inafter described,and'pointed ontin the claims,

for removingthegumorsap from ramie, hemp,

. and other fibers, and thereby to prepare the same ready for market anduse. 7

In the apparatus which is the subject of this specification I subjectthe fiber after de-. cortication tothe action of hot air or to a blastof air'heated to a proper'temperaturafgr'the" purpose of solidifyingth'egum or sap, so that "the same can readily be afterward removed bymechanical meansas, for instance, by beating whips and brushes-whichprocess of solidifying the gum or sap irrespective of the special meanshere shown it is intended to make the subject of a separate applicationfor Letters Patent.

Reference is to be had' to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of,this specification, 0 in whichsimilar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 represents a partly sectional plan of an apparatus for dryingand cleaning ramie' and other fibers embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is avertical longitudinal. section-of the same upon the line as a: in Fig.1.Fig.3 is' a view, upon alarger scale, of certain mechanism .for rotatingalternately in reversedirec tions certain heaters and brushes used incleaning the fiber; Fig. 4, a like view 'of certain mechanism used infeeding and delivering-or passing the fiber through the'apparatus, "andv Fig. 5 a view in perspective of a comb used in connection with thecleaning-brushes- A is ahot-air drying-chamber of a closeor closedconstruction, but-having openings bat its opposite endssuflicientlylarge to admit of 'two endless flexible aprons or belt-Like earriers, BB -arranged one above-the: other, freely passing-through them-thatisftheir, contiguous parallel sides-{between whichtliea full, clear,

Serial no. 209,832. momma.)

' fiber to be ,dried and cleaned is" placed said carrierslotherwiserunning outside of the drying-chamber'as, for instance, over endrollens," O G-and being supported throughout their length by rollers c0, arranged inside and outside of said chamber.

D is a furnace or chamber, inwhich the air to be supplied to thedrying-chamber A is heated, preferably, to a temperature over 160Fahrenheit. This chamber D may be heated either by the'directapplication of fire or in any other suitable way. The cold air to beheated is forced by a pump or blower, E, through a pipe, d, which, aftercirculating through the chamber D, has connected with it branches e,that deliver the heated air to the interior of the chamber A at grpearitswne end wijlapipcsfi-at(ii-near the opposite end escape of 7b theexpelled air and moisture.

The carriers B B have a continuous motion in thesame direction, asindicated by thearrows y in Fig. 2, to keep up a continuous supply offiber from the drying-chamber A to the '75 cleaning devices, as alsohave certainfeed and delivery rollers, g, which conduct the fiber afterits delivery from the drying-chamber to and between rotary whippers orbeaters E E and brushes F F, and from thence onto a 'receiv- ,80ing-table, G, in the rear. These whippers or heaters or beating whipsand brushes constitute the cleaning devices which remove the gum or sapfrom the fiber after it has been solidified by the passage of the fiberthrough the dryingchamber.

While the feed of the fiber is a continuous one-that is, always in thesame directionthe direction in motion of the cleaning devices is beingrepeatedly changed-that is, the heaters E and brushes F are made torotate alternately in reverse directions, whereby a more thoroughcleaning is obtained.

Combs H H are used in connection with the brushes to free or relievethem of adhering matter. The heaters E E, which act in advance of thebrushes upon the dried fiber, and which are arranged one above theother, are composed of cylinders armed on'their periph- 'eries withflexible thongs or thrashers of any .100 suitable kind. Thefbrushes FFare similarly arranged back of the heaters. Two independent sets ofgear are used to drive the feeding and cleaning devices in a positivemanner.

. means of pinions i upon the feed and deliveryl rollers 9, intermediatetransmitting-wheels, k, and toothed wheels Z upon a rear roller, 0, ofeach of the carriers B, serves to communicate the necessary motion tothe carriers B B and feed and delivery rollers g to pass the fibercontinuously in the same direction through the apparatus.

The \vhippers o'r heaters E. E and brushers' F F are operated asfollows: J is a driving.

pulley fast upon a shaft, m, and K K pulleys loose upon said shaft onopposite sides of i the fast pulley. These loose pulleys are driven torot-ate in reverse direction to one another by means of a cross-belt, a,upon the one of them, and astraight belt, 0, upon the other, from or byan overhead or other drum common to both, so that by shifting first theone of said belts and then'the other onto the fast pulley J said fast ordriving pulley is made to rotate first in the ode direction and then inthe other.

i I This is a well-known method or means of obtaining an alternatereverse circular move-. ment.

- tate alternately in reverse directions, is a wheel,

' 7", which gears with wheels 8 8 upon the one' whippen E and one of thebrushes F, and these wheels s ,9 gear in turn with other wheels, 8 8,upon the other whipper and other brush, to make both whippers and bothbrushes move in concert-that is, the two whippers or beaters and the twobrushes to rotate first in one direction and then in the oppositedirection to thoroughly clean the dried fiber. and to remove from it thesolidified gum and sap as said fiber is passed by the feeding devicescontinuously moving in one and the same direction between said whippcrsand brushes or rotary cleaners. The belt-like carriers B B, whichsupport the fiber and carry it along and keep it from being blown aboutand becoming tangled, may either or both of them be of a reticulated ormore or less open eonstruetion,to facilitate the passage of the hot airthrough and among the fiber. To prevent free escape of the hot air fromthe drying-chamber A, where the carriers B B enter and leave saidchamber, rubber or other elastic flaps arranged to press against saidcarriers above. and below may be applied to the openings 1) b in thedrying-chamber, as shown in Fig. 2.

Upon .theshaft 122-, thus driven to ro-' Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is- 0 1; In apparatus for drying and cleaning ramie and other fibersafter decortication, the combination of a hot air drying chamber.

adapted to solidify the gum or sap in the fiber, cleaners adapted tomechanically remove such solidified material or materials, and feedingdevices adapted to pass the fiber through the drying-chamber and to orthrough and between the cleaners, substantially as specified.

2. In apparatus for drying andcleaning ramie and other fibers aft-erdccortication, the combination of a series of rotary cleaners driven torevolve alternatelyin reverse directions, a hot-air drying-chamberthrough which the fiber is passed to said cleaners, and feeding devicesadapted to continuously move the fiberin the same direction through thedryingchamber and to and between said alternately reversely-rotatingcleaners, essentially as specified.

3. In apparatus for dryingand cleaning ramie and other fiber afterdecortication, the drying-chamber A, of close or closed construction,provided with apertures b in its ends.- in combination wit-h the endlessapron or beltlike carriers B B, adapted to receive the fiber in betweenthem, and operated to travel in like directions through and outside ofsaid dryingchamber, substantially as described.

4. In apparatus for drying and cleaning ramie and other fiber afterdecorticatiou, the combination, wit-h the drying-chamber A and itsendless traveling belt-like carriers B B, adapted to pass the fiberthrough. said chamber, of the furnace or air-heating chamber D, the pumpor blower E, and pipes adapted to conduct the air from the blowerthrough the furnace to the drying-chamber, and to establish an outletfrom the latter, essentially as described.

5. The combination of the hot-air dryingchamber A, the endless travelingbeltlike carriers B B, the feeding and delivery rollers g, operated tomove in concert with said car- CHRISTIAN O. K AUFFM AN.

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Gno. E. .SEARs, 0. Emma.

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